Inflatable article



Mrch 9, i948.,

KSG. HANN INFLATABLE ARTICLE Filed July 12, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 9, 1948. K. G; HANN INFLATABLEARTIGLE 'Filed' July 12', 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M MA ,.0 H T r. r E A N .M 5

Patented Mar. 9, p1948 UNITED mettez INFLATABLE Mirror-,E

ApplicatoniJuly 1-2, 1945, fSjeral Nnilmgil In. Great Britain July.: 27, Y 1944i,

This.*invention` relates to inatable furniture andothe-rinflatableA articles;v especiallyl chair-s, forexample, of the type described in applicantfs Patent No. 2,359,679; the chief object of; the

invention being to-provide` a means for inflatingthe said articles more conveniently than ination by the use of ordinary bellows, which involves the use1 of external piping and valves'.

According tothis invention bellows are incorporated insideythe chair or other article itself, inthe form of. two rigid discs Aor diaphragme joined around their edges tothe inside ofA a tube forming a part-` of the chair or other varticle and spaced at a convenient distance apart, in; one

01*- both .oiwhich diaphragms is a nonreturn-- valve, meansr being provided to admit air from the atmosphere to the space between the two diaphragrns through a. nonf-return Valve and thence to theinteriorrj of= the article through the Valve in the diaphragm, By manual Operation o neof. thek diaphragmeis-v moved ltowards and away fromV the,r other, o r bot-h thediaphltgms arefmovedtowards andV awayfrom .each other in. concertina fashion.r Thus on `one strokear is drawn in, from thel atmosphere-and Qn; the

strokein the reverse Vdirection air forced through the non-returnv valve in rone; diaphragm into the interior of the chair orn other article, which is thusY inflated. The rigid diaphragms may be -tted'vwith handleswhich, can be grasped by the handsof the operator through the caslngof thel article to; be ,iniiatedi Whenthe .article is almost fully inflated; it; will no` longer be possible to grasp. these handlesgas the casingwilli then be underV tension, but by placingL the internal bellows in` a, suitable position inthe article to be inflated thelbellowscan still be` operated, because the expansion stroke of the bellows is effected automatically by means. .of the resilience or the inflated tubes of the article, the compressionY stroke being performed manually by pressingthe outsides o the tubes together without the necessityA ofgripping the handles. Handle straps such asthose used in concer. tinas may be provided, however, on the outsides of the tubes,` these handle straps being Ymade of canvas or webbing, Veither as an alternative orr an addition to the handles on the diaphragms themselves.

The expansion stroke is the last stroke to be made by the bellows, as after the article is. inated above thenormal` pressure by the last compression stroke theV bellows is.V filled in the last. expansion stroke, after which a leakaeeoi pressure. For; this purpose onev or both of the diaphragmslmay. be prorided with a non-return valvewhuhls only; say l.99 percent eiiicient, so that, air in,.the-.inflated,article will leak` back s lightlyinto.thebellowsthus equalizng the4 pressure.. Alternatively.. avery smallhole may be made in the*v diaphragm` and `a .fully keiiicientnonreturn valve Ausd.

Hoops or ringssmax be. placed between diaphragms eitherinsideor outsider the fabric surface to. hol,d.the iabricanarh on; the. expansion streifte.v

The intention. .Gan .be-applied. to any inflatable structurer whichis. oi. substantially tubular rconstruction. In an armchair the :tubesforming the arms, have. blocgedmft; ends: in` whichA .case one diaphragm. ofy ,thebellows could form'the end of a. tube, anldthe inlet,valve could be in the said diaphragm,

The invention is also applicable to inflatable mattnesses. 'Iha mattresses are sometimes made-inthe f QIm:,of;a number ofginlatable tubes plaeedfsde. by side., in; whienease the4 bellows woulclvbe plaeedfim Some convenient plaoefin one of these; tubes.

Lnorden thatthesaid-lnvention may be clearly understood and;readily.` carried Ainto eiect, the Same will now be iurthel'described with reference to.. the accompanying, drawings,A which illustrate two.. exemlllatona of-` the inventionY applied to inflatable chairs.Y

Figure LrSpreSentsinside elevation, a chair in which` the internalbellows are located in the top of the chair bacmthe chairhavinga fabric cover.

Figurerepresents-infront elevation the chair shown infFigure 11, with thefabric cover removed.

Figure.` 3 represents, a longitudinal section throughthe upper part ofthe back of a chair of the type shown inEigures;V 1 and 2 but showing a siightla-.modedistruoiure.,

Figure ereQreSents-in. section an. valtormfitive arrangement in which the bellows are located in f oneend otone-armf--anarmchair.

ReferringI tov` Eigllresyl. larnzlf-Z ofV the drawings, thevinflatablachair `ther -1in shown, and which is of the type -de.S. :,r,iloediv in; naif-...Patent No. 2,350,679, comprisestubularseotions 10mi-a exible materialisuohiasrubber. Thatubular sections are-oon- .neeted together to. prei/idea 'Ui-shaped seat portion l2 andau-.shanedbaokportion I4, the 'non tions beingqjoineding the manner shown to form the chair-.Shaped tubular .structure- 'lheoneningwltbin the seat andebaokrortons of the chair is covered by means of fabric for supporting the seat and back of the person occupying the chair. The back portion I4 of the chair also is braced with respectl to the said portion by means of triangular-shaped members I6 which are suitably connected to the material of the seat and back portions I2 and I4.

The chair shown in Figures 1 and 2 is provided with an internal bellows located in the tubular section forming the top of the chair back. To that end, the tubular section at the top of the back of the chair, as indicated in Figure 2, is formed by panels A, A and B, of flexible material, The panels A and A', at the inner edges, are fastened to the opposite edges of the panel B by exteriorly-positioned, overlapping strips D and E, and each of the panels A and A is secured, at their outer edges, to panels I and I by exteriorly-positioned, overlapping strips F and G. The sections I and I are similarly secured to the upright tubular sections forming the sides of the chair back. The overlapping strips D, E, F and G, in addition to securing together the several panels, also function to reinforce the bellows section and, thereby, cause it to preserve its cylindrical shape when the chair is collapsed. If desired, reinforcing strip S may extend longitudinally of the tubular sections forming the sides and the top of the back of the chair.

An air inlet C, in communication with the atmosphere and the inside of the bellows, is mounted in the panel B, and provided with a non-return valve to prevent air from being expelled from the bellows on the compression stroke. The air inlet C should be of liberal size to allow air to enter the bellows freely.

The bellows diaphragms preferably are positioned adjacent the outer edges of the panels A and A', inside the tubular back section of the chair and the securing and reinforcing strips F and G.

The structure and arrangement of the bellows is more completely shown in Figure 3, which illustrates a slightly modified form of the upright part of the back of an inflatable chair. In that figure, the bellows is shown as comprising a tubular section I8 made of flexible material. An air inlet tube C, in the section I8, is provided with a nonreturn valve of well-known type. Rubber or other rings D1 and E1 are attached to the interior surface of the material of the tubular section I8, in spaced relation to each other, to hold the fabric of the tubular section apart on the expansion stroke of the bellows. Diaphragms F and G are provided, respectively, on opposite sides of the rings, and are secured around their edges to the interior surface of the material of the tubular section I8, as indicated at f' and g', respectively. The diaphragms F and G' are arranged so that they can be caused to approach and recede from the rings D1 and E1 by alternately pressing in and drawing back a pair of webbing or plastic handles f2 and y.

The diaphragm F' is provided with a rubber flap valve f3 which is adapted to close an air inlet c when the pressure inside the chair proper is greater than that within the bellows section. A small leak hole lf4 also is provided in the diaphragm F to permit the pressure in the bellows section of the chair and in the remainder of the chair to equalize after the inflation of the chair has been completed. If the handles f2 and g2 are omitted, the manipulation of the bellows can be effected by alternately applying and removing manual pressure on the diaphragm through the flexible panels forming the upper section of the chair containing the bellows, or by the use of handle straps 22 of canvas or webbing provided on the outside of the tubes adjacent the diaphragrns F and G. These straps 22 may be provided as alternative or in addition to the handles f2 and g2.

Referring to Figure 4, a cylindrical extension H of iiexible material is attached to one end of a chair arm M, and terminates in a circular or other wall h1, in which is an air inlet c1. A rubber flap valve J is provided to close the said air inlet when pressure inside the extension H is greater than atmospheric pressure due to the wall h1 being pushed inwardly by the handle h2, which may be of any convenient form. At the same time a iiap valve k1 in the inner wall K of the extension H is opened due to such increase of air pressure, and admits air to the interior of the chair arm M through opening c. On the reverse stroke of the handle h3, the valve k1, closes and the valve J opens, re-charging the interior of the extension H. A small leak hole k2 is provided for the purpose already described, also rings or hoops D2 and E2.

' The invention is applicable to inflatable dinghies in the form shown in Figures 1 to 3, the dinghy being inflated in just the same way as a chair. The bellows would normally be placed either at the bow or stern of the dinghy for ease of working.

In dinghies incorporating inflatable seats it may be more convenient to place the bellows in one of these seats. Alternatively it may be found more convenient to employ a bellows in the form shown in Figure 4 in which the bellows forms an end of a tube, which may or may not form part of the structure of the dinghy.

I claim:

An inflatable arti-cle having a plurality of sections, one of said sections being tubular and of collapsible material, said tubular section being connected to another section of the article at one of the ends thereof, a pair of spaced, rigid diaphragms mounted in said tubular section and having their edges joined to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof to provide a bellows chamber, said diaphragms, because .of the collapsible nature of said tubular section, being movable towards and from one another, a non-return valve in the diaphragm intermediate the tubular section and said other section for discharge of air from the bellows chamber into the interior 0f said other section, `and means including a non-return valve for admitting air from the atmosphere to the bellows chamber.

2. An inflatable article as dened in claim 1 in which the diaphragm intermediate the bellows chamber and said other section is provided with a small leakage opening therethrough to permit equalization of pressure between the bellows chamber and said other section.

3. An inflatable chair including a plurality of sections interconnected for the passage of air, one of said sections being tubular and of collapsible material, said tubular section being connected to another section of the chair at one end thereof, a pair of spaced diaphragms mounted in said tubular section and having their edges yjoined to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof to provide a bellows chamber, said diaphragrns, because of the collapsible nature of said tubular section, being movable towards and from one another, a non-return valve in the diaphragm intermediate the tubular section and said other section for discha-rge of air from the bellows chamber into the interi-or of said other section, and means including a nonreturn valve for admitting air from the atmosphere to the bellows chamber.

4. An inflatable article having a plurality of sections, one of said sections being tubular and of collapsible material, said tubular section being connected to another section of the article at one end thereof, a pair of spaced diaphragms mount-ed in said tubular section and having their edges joined to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof to provide a bellows chamber, said diaphragms, because of the collapsible nature of the tubular section, being movable towards 'and from one another, at least one ring secured to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof, between and in spaced relation to said diaphragms, for holding the material of the tubular section between said diaphragms apart, means including a non-return valve for admitting air from the atmosphere to the bellows chamber, and means including a non-return valve for the discharge of air from the bellows chamber into said other section.

5. An inflatable article as dened in claim 4 in which means is provided for a small leakage of air from the inflated article into the bellows chamber to permit equalization off pressure between the bellows chamber and the remainder of the article when the article has been inflated to the desired degree by operation of the bellows.

6. In an inflatable article of ilexible material, at least one diaphragm extending entirely across a part of the inflatable article and dividing olf a portion of its interior to provide a bellows chamber, said diaphragm being manipulatable through the flexible material of the article to elect inflation of the article, means including a non-return valve for admitting air from the atmosphere to the bellows chamber, means including a nonreturn valve for the discharge of air from the bellows chamber into the remainder of the inatable article to elfect inflation thereof, and means for admitting air slowly into the bellows chamber from said remainder of the article to equalize the pressure in the article after the bellows has been operated to effect the inflation thereof.

7. An inflatable chair including a tubular section to be inated, said tubular section including an inverted generally U-shaped portion, the base of said portion being of collapsible material and forming the top of the back of said chair, and the legs 'of said portion forming the sides of the back of the chair, a pair of spaced diaphragms mounted in the base of said portion and having their edges joined to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof to provide a bellows chamber, said diaphragme, because of the collapsible nature of said base portion, being movable towards and from one another, a nonreturn valve in at least one of said diaphragms for discharge of air from said chamber into at least one of the legs of said portion, and means including a non-return valve for admitting air from the atmosphere to the spa-ce between the two diaphr-agms.

8. An inflatable article as defined in claim 1 made of flexible 'material and having a handle ion each of said diaphragms within said tubular fsection and at the sides of the diaphragms remote from the bellows chamber to enable the diaphragms to be manipulated through the flexible material of the article to eiect inflation thereof.

9. An inatable chair as defined in claim 3 of exible material in which at least one ring is secured to the material of the tubular section on the interior surface thereof, between and in spaced relation to said diaphragme, for holding the material 0f the tubular section between said diaphragme apart, and in which a handle is secured on each of said diaphragme within said tubular section and at the sides of the diaphragm remote from the bellows chamber, to enable the diaphragms to be manipulated through the iiexible material of the article to ell ect ination thereof.

KENNETH GRAEME HANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATN TS Number Name Date 247,142 Woods Sept. 13, 1881 388,037 Hargin Aug. 2l, 1888 795,108 Doellinger July 18, 1905 1,166,811 Bowers Jan. 4, 1916 1,184,371 Myers May 23, 1916 1,795,304 Howard Mar. 10, 1931 1,944,466 Rubin Jan. 23, 1934 2,350,679 Hann June 6, 1944 2,369,736 Hurt Feb. 20, 1945 2,372,218 Manson et al Mar. 27, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 275,801 Germany Apr. 2, 1913 428,575 Great Britain May 15, 1935 

